Aeterna Zentaris commences enrollment in AEZS-130 Phase 2A trial for cancer cachexia

Aug 28 2012

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) (TSX: AEZ) (the "Company") today announced that a first patient has been recruited for a Phase 2A trial with its ghrelin agonist, AEZS-130 in patients with cancer cachexia. The study is conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Aeterna Zentaris and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center which is funding the study. Cachexia, characterized by diminished appetite and food intake in cancer patients, is defined as an involuntary weight loss of at least 5% of the pre-illness body weight over the previous 6 months. Jose M. Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism, Departments of Medicine, Molecular and Cell Biology, the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center and the Huffington Center on Aging at Baylor College of Medicine and Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, is acting as the Principal Investigator of this trial conducted in Houston, Texas.

Juergen Engel, PhD, President and CEO of Aeterna Zentaris stated, "This is a key study as it allows us to venture into the field of cancer-cachexia, an indication with high unmet medical needs. Because cachexia is very common among cancer patients, our oral ghrelin agonist, AEZS-130, could represent a novel treatment option for many of the 1.5 million people diagnosed with cancer each year, in the U.S. alone."

SOURCE AETERNA ZENTARIS INC.